At UNSW the course is independent of other science courses - you can't treat it like a normal science course, only nanostudents (they're really small) can do the specialised nanosubjects (so are they), and they can't be combined with any other course.
At UTS Nanotechnology is available as both a specialised course (two actually) and a major for the general science degree. Because the nanotechnology program is available as a major it can be combined like any other science course. What I do is BSc BA IntSt, where my Science major is Nanotechnology. The two courses are BSc (Nanotechnology) and BSc (Nanotechnology Innovation).
The UNSW degree has four streams, each of which is highly specialised. This is a pretty good foundation for people who know which specific field of nanotechnology they wish to enter (and it's certainly NOT "just a new development in materials science"). However, it's very important to keep in mind that early in your scientific career people are far more interested in your skills (what you can do) over what you know - all those specialised biology subjects, for example, may not really be an asset compared to, say, intermediate physics or chemistry subjects where you may have learned some useful laboratory skills.
UTS is more a general nanotechnology course than UNSW. The course director explained to me that our industry contacts feel it's far more important to be an all-capable nanotechnologist than someone with highly specialised knowledge at the expense of experience in all fields, due mostly to the high volatility of the market. The UTS course has thorough coverage of physics, chemistry and biochemistry (regular biology is way bigger than nano), as well as the only undergraduate electron microscopy training in Australia. The Innovation course replaces some of the science subjects with "entrepreneurial subjects", usually from the Faculties of Business or IT. The Innovation degrees at UTS (Nano, IT and Biotech) are designed to give graduates in volatile fields some business entrepreneurial experience.
The UNSW cutoff was a few points higher than UTS last year, that's basically the trend across all science courses offered at both UTS and UNSW (easily attributed to overall popularity of UNSW over UTS). I can't really comment on the candidature of the courses (amount and quality of students) though at UTS they seem to have achieved a balance regarding places vs applicants (whilst obviously setting an acceptable academic threshold).
You'll note I haven't even mentioned USyd: their course is little more than a token effort, it's just a science major (no seperate course) and I am told there are virtually no dedicated nanotechnology subjects - just existing subjects cobbled together in a new combination.
UNSW Course Program
UTS Course Program
